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 Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:38 pm
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A shimmering butterfly floated through an open window in the village of Kekomura. Spotting its target below, it fluttered lower to land on the peacefully sleeping angel Takeko's purple locks before vanishing into her dreams.
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Home.
Leaves flashing by. Flying? Running? Both?
Whichever it was, the canopy flew by with periodic brief pauses. This was home, this was natural, this was her element. It would have been soothing...if not for the acrid smell of smoke in the air. Coppery tinges. Tension grew.
Moving down towards the ground now, landing gracefully with only a pause, then forward movement resumed.
A piercing whistle split the air.
Course change. Into the darkness below the canopy.
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Groggy.
Pain.
Why does my head hurt?
Darkness begins to fade as eyes flutter open. Why was she on the ground? Why did everything hurt? She pushed herself up, dirt and forest floor beneath her hands. There were others here...young ones. Angel and demon youths looked in her direction with concern. They were all seated on the ground, all wearing strange tunics of a similar, but foreign design. Her attention was pulled beyond that, however, to the faun standing nearby. With bows drawn, arrows at the ready.
She rose cautiously to a seated position, a tree at her back for support as she still felt woozy. The youth all looked to her with expressions of fear, desperation, panic. "Stay calm, young ones," she heard herself say in a quiet voice, however...
That wasn't her voice. It was strange. Masculine. Foreign.
Warily watching the armed faun keeping guard over them, he/she attempted to get a gauge at what was happening. A whisper from her back...not aloud, but direct to his/her mind. Two before you. One by the alder tree and one in its branches. Three beneath the elder pine. Two more...
Careful mental notes taken from the tree's input, the sound of voices reached his/her ears, if faintly.
"Prisoners secure, Captain. There don't seem to be any others in the area, no soldiers in sight. What should we do with them?"
As of yet, they seemed to only be under guard. Perhaps, if they behaved, he/she could get the young ones safe. They just had to keep calm and not do anything rash. If they could just hold out until an opportunity arose get back to the safety of the nearest city...
"Chief says to move out. No time for this. Dispose of them."
...or not.
"B-but, sir, they're only healers!"
"Healers that will save our enemies and send them back at us. Now, do your job, soldier."
"....yes, sir."
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What happens next?
It is up to you to finish Takeko's dream sequence!
You have until --November 12, 2018--to complete the task in order to move on to the next step.
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:41 pm
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Adrenaline pumping, she flew through the trees, leaves whipping by her face at a speed that was almost painful. Yet, the experience was exhilarating and she could feel her heart pounding with the rhythm of the forest. She was at one with the forest. The nature around her was part of her, as she was part of it. Even at this speed, she was in her element and moved solely on instinct.
The signal!
She hit the ground with barely a pause, switching directions abruptly to head towards the source of the whistle. She was tense, the smell of smoke and blood in the air, and if the signal sounded, that meant...
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Ugh...why does everything hurt...?
She shifted, realizing her shoulder that pressed against the ground had pushed her wing into an awkward angle. Pushing up from the earth, she wobbled as her head spun and fell against a tree trunk behind her, from the feel of the rough bark at her back. She blinked her eyes open and looked around in confusion. Several young panicked eyes peered back. She had no more idea what was going on than they did, but she felt compelled to give them some sort of reassurance or comfort.
"Stay calm, young ones."
The words came from her lips, but...that wasn't her voice! A quick glance downward revealed a strange tunic, slightly more ornamental than those worn by the young adults and teens nearby with odd symbols she didn't quite recognize...
She had still been getting used to her new ability, but she hadn't even attempted to focus on communication when she heard the voice at her back, like a whisper in her ear. Only no one else could hear it. The tree quickly relayed the positions of all the faun guarding them, and though she still wasn't sure what was going on overall, she logged the useful information away.
More voices, these reaching her ears.. and not straight into her mind. The exchange between the faun was tense and unnerving. So...they were prisoners? Why? As one of them pointed out, they were only healers. She cast her eyes over the young acolytes again, the knowledge rising to the surface as if from a deep pond. His apprentices. So where...? His eldest apprentice and right-hand assistant knelt nearby, consoling one of the acolytes and trying to keep him calm. They locked gazes for just a moment, a knowing look passing between them. Whatever happened, it was their duty to get these charges back to the safety of the city, no matter what it took. The faun couldn't be allowed to--
His breath caught at the revelation of what he'd overheard. They were just going to...murder them all? In cold blood? Some of these students were little more than children! Righteous indignation began bubbling deep within him. How dare they? These creatures had no honor!
Locking eyes with his assistant, he mouthed silently, 'Get ready!'
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:55 pm
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The faun turned on them, one-by-one, notching their arrows and drawing their bows taut. Fighting to push down the panic at staring down the wrong end of several drawn arrows, the angel glowered at the faun and raised one wing as if to shield a young female demon to his left side. He made no other hostile movements, but he saw the archers tense as well. He was no warrior...he was a teacher, a leader of healers and herbalists. He had no place on the front lines of this conflict.
But these young lives were his responsibility. He had to answer for the risks taken at bringing them to the field for study and resource gathering. There were things they could only learn out here, away from the busy cities and their development. But...this was open land for dealing with hostiles. He'd known and taken that chance...and lost.
He placed one hand on the tree for stability, the other arm extended in front of his wing shielding the young girl. "Please...is there no hope of resolving this peacefully?" It was a desperate and slim hope, but he had to try...
What seemed to be the leader of these creatures looked his way coldly. "It's too late for any of that."
"That...is what I feared," he sighed, shoulders slumping. Concentrating his energy and focus through his right hand, into the tree trunk, he sent out a desperate plea. 'Please...help us...'
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 9:35 pm
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 11:12 pm
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To the air, to the air! Wings pumping, chest heaving, he reached for the sky. Distract them, long enough for the young ones to get away, if he could just keep their attention on him...
He only had a moment to feel the wind lifting his feathered wings before he was hit by agonizing pain. His wing beats became asynchronous, interrupted by the pain and sudden weakness on one side. A couple of flaming arrows wizzed past on either side. He could guess what happened. Shortly, he was plummeting back towards the canopy, through the branches, to the ground. Hitting with a sickening thud, his body tumbled and rolled. Everything hurt again. His head was hazy. He lifted his eyes to find himself staring down another arrow shaft.
'Faroth?' No, the eyes were wrong...his were blue, these were brown.
He shook his head, unsure where that thought--
"Go, find the others. I'll finish with this one."
The silver faun nodded and vanished back into the foliage leaving him to turn and face the voice that had spoken. A dark shadow emerged from the forest. It was a faun...or was it? The shadows didn't recede, instead seeming to cling to the figure and keep him shrouded in darkness. His horns seemed unlike the others branches, curling around his skull like some horrible beast. Only his eyes could be seen...his eyes...glowed. Shadows moved behind him like great wings, bony and broad, blocking out the sky. Instead of a bow, the beast wielded a great two-handed hammer, chuckling darkly as he hefted the weight and prepared to swing.
Instinctively, the angel tried to brace for the blow and draw both wings forward like a shield, but one wouldn't respond. Was it broken? Gone? Not that it mattered much now, as the beast brought down the hammer--
**********
The angel awoke with a scream as well as a tumble from the bed to the floor. Takeko was panting, skin sticky with cold sweat. She reached for the blankets to draw them to herself with a shudder that was only partially from the cold chill. Only after wrapping the cover around herself in some semblance of comfort did she register the pain from the fall. "...ow," she muttered, reaching down to rub her hip. That was going to bruise.
She took in her surroundings warily, as if not believing for a moment that this was real. The pain in her backside seemed real though and served as a grounding force. Was all that...just a dream? It must have been, however...
It hadn't felt like just a dream.
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